Wealthsimple Learn
In this short pitch course project, my team (4 members) was tasked with proposing a solution that would improve the emotional interactions users had with a platform (Wealthsimple).
For this project, we explored the problem of financial literacy through a review of the literature, and proposed gamified learning as a way to improve the emotional interactions new investors have with Wealthsimple.
Role
UI Designer
Researcher
Timeline
1 week
Skills
Literature Review
UI Design
Wireframing
Tools
Figma
Building wealth is inherently a good thing
Investing early creates a longer horizon for compound interest to accrue, leading to more wealth generated
(CIRO, n.d.)
Risk for investments is minimized over the long term because the market tends to trend upwards over time
(Booth, 2022)
Entry costs to investing in stocks are lower than ever with the rise of investment platforms like Wealthsimple
(Merkoulova & Veld, 2022)
Of Canadians have no investments
A lack of knowledge is the biggest reason why people are not investing in Canada
(Ispos, 2024)
Young people have the lowest financial literacy rate
(Klapper et al., 2015)
Only 56% of Canadians feel comfortable investing
(Ispos, 2024)
Yet 79% of Canadians believed having more information would help them build the confidence to invest and 73% expressed wanting to learn more about investing
(Ispos, 2024)
The Wealthsimple app assumes people know how to invest. But research shows many don't.
Wealthsimple does offer educational articles on their website but these are not exactly accessible from their app and thus users might not even know they exist. Moreover, Wealthsimple's app lacks resource and guidance for new investors and as we know, many people lack financial literacy.
The current app lacks contextual resources and/or clues for new investors, assuming users already know exactly what they are doing
Wealthsimple does have learning content, it's just "hidden" on their website.
Given that a significant number of people don't know how to invest but want to get started and learn more…
How might we empower and encourage new investors while also converting them to Wealthsimple's services?
Our Pitch:
Gamified Education on Wealthsimple
Wealthsimple is limiting its user base to those who know how to invest. But by providing more educational resources through gamified learning, there is the potential for Wealthsimple to expand its user base by tapping into new investors.
To provide a better experience for individuals new to finances and Wealthsimple, our solution is to gamify educational content on the Wealthsimple app. We want to make learning about a difficult topic such as finances and investing, into something easily digestible, engaging, and interactive. In doing so, our intention is to empower new investors, but also increase Wealthsimple's user base.
Why Gamification?
Gamification has the potential to help Wealthsimple stand out among competitors
Gamification consistently yields positive effects on cognitive, motivational, and behavioural learning
(Sailer & Homer, 2019)
Gamified platforms showed to improve learner motivation, engagement, and performance
(Zainnudden et al., 2020)
A gamified "Learn" section where you can access engaging educational content, gain points for completing lessons, and unlock badges to display
A personalization questionnaire to orient learning content to your goals and interests
Engaging content that makes learning fun and convenient
Lessons that help you understand the basics of the stock market so you can comfortably make informed investment decisions
Attractive rewards you can redeem with points from completing lessons
Things I'd do next:
1
Conduct a survey to gauge user interest in the concept of Wealthsimple Learn in order to further validate our findings
2
With validation of user interest, create an interactive prototype for usability testing to gather feedback and make improvements
3
Pilot/Beta testing and a focus group with a small group of users to gather initial feedback and make further refinements
How I'd measure success:
1
Survey results confirming user interest
2
High task success, positive qualitative feedback, high usability ratings from usability testing
3
Positive feedback and expressed interest from focus group findings